2nd Ultrasound

I guess I need to be watching Grey's Anatomy or A Baby's Story more frequently since we've now been introduced to a side of the medical world that I could possibly live without. Since I'm already pretty far along in the pregnancy, my ultrasound doctor can not determine conclusively if the boys are going to be paternal twins or identical twins. It seemed simple at first because it truly doesn't matter to us which way they are, but unfortunately there are much more complicated reasons if they happen to be identical.

 

Okay, get ready for some medical jargon to begin. Identical twins run the risk of something called, twin-to-twin transfer. That basically means that one twin receives more blood and nutrients from the placenta then the other twin because some blood vessels have "transferred" or crossed over each other. Left untreated one twin would thrive and the other one would not. Treating it means going to see the big-time doctors in Houston for a high-tech surgery requiring them to separate the blood vessels in the placenta. This would be the worst case scenario.

 

The flip side of this huge situation is that they are paternal twins and don't share any blood vessels at all from the placenta. The only way we'll know what is happening in there is to monitor the fluid levels around the babies very closely. So far one baby currently has a little more fluid than the other one. This is normal for now, however if the one twins level drops that would be the first sign of twin-to-twin transfer.

 

I am scheduled to have another ultrasound in one week to see where we're at. I pray with all my heart that everything will be okay and that both boys are going to be just fine. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this new journey of having twins.